Sports Americana

There are “what ifs” in sports.

And then there are the ones that make you stare at the ceiling for a while.

On April 27, 2017, the Chicago Bears traded up one spot in the NFL Draft and selected North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick.

A few minutes later, the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to No. 10.

With that pick, they selected a quarterback from Texas Tech named Patrick Mahomes.

The rest, as they say, is history.

But what if the Bears had taken Mahomes?

Imagine it.

Chicago passes on Trubisky and makes Mahomes the second overall pick. Suddenly, the young quarterback with the ridiculous arm, backyard-football creativity and penchant for throwing passes that seemingly violated the laws of physics is wearing a Bears uniform. Chicago has their own version of Brett Favre.

And now the entire NFL looks different.

Maybe Mahomes struggles. That’s the uncomfortable part of any hindsight exercise. Put him in a different organization, with different coaches, different teammates and a different offensive system, and there’s no guarantee he becomes that Patrick Mahomes.

But what if he does?

What if Andy Reid’s arrival in Kansas City wasn’t the magic ingredient?

What if Mahomes was going to become Patrick Mahomes regardless?

The Bears had spent years searching for a franchise quarterback. Instead, they could have had one who would eventually become one of the greatest quarterbacks of his generation.

Chicago might have spent the late 2010s and early 2020s fighting for Super Bowls instead of fighting to find stability at quarterback.

And Kansas City?

That’s where this gets really interesting.

Without Mahomes, the Chiefs don’t become the dynasty we know. No MVP seasons. No Super Bowl victories led by No. 15. No Mahomes-versus-Brady storyline. No overtime thriller against Buffalo. No parade of impossible throws that have become part of NFL folklore.

The AFC looks different.

The Patriots’ dynasty might have a different ending.

The Bills’ path changes.

The Bengals’ rise could look different.

And somewhere in Chicago, a generation of Bears fans might have grown up believing that having a great quarterback was completely normal.

That’s the cruel beauty of sports history.

The Bears weren’t choosing between Mahomes and some obvious bust.

They were choosing between two young quarterbacks, and nobody knew the future.

Chicago chose Trubisky.

Kansas City chose Mahomes.

One became a fascinating footnote in NFL history.

The other became Patrick Mahomes.

And that’s why, almost a decade later, one question still hangs over the 2017 NFL Draft:

What if Patrick Mahomes had become a Chicago Bear?

Many Bears fans are probably still wondering.

And Chiefs fans are very happy nobody knows the answer.